Memorial memories: Celebrating 100 years of impactful moments at Mizzou's home football stadium

On that muggy day, it was hard to dwell on the heat. A palpable excitement pushed the unpleasant weather to the back of everyone’s minds. At least it did so for Todd Graves, chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

“I was accused by one of the curators a while back of being sentimental,” Graves said on Sept. 2. “It's September in Columbia, and the kids are walking around, and we're going to play a football game… You're darn right I’m sentimental.”

Memorial Stadium is set to celebrate its 100th anniversary when the Tigers host Troy at 6 p.m. Saturday. That’s 100 years of iconic moments and memories.

In December of 1925, ground was broken for the future site of Memorial Stadium, and on Oct. 2, 1926, the Tigers played their first game in it. Torrential rain resulted in a muddy meeting between Missouri and Tulane that ended in a 0-0 tie.

Much to the relief of Mizzou fans, the next 100 years featured many moments that put that dull game in the rearview mirror. Some have been glorious, from the Tigers winning their first ranked matchup and the Big Six title in 1939 to Mizzou’s 1960 team being recognized (decades later) as a national champion.

Golden opportunity in 2007

Former Mizzou defensive back Kevin Rutland, who now co-hosts the TruSons podcast, was fortunate enough to experience some great moments back when he repped the black and gold. He was on the roster when then-No. 4 Missouri upset its rival, then-No. 2 Kansas, in 2007 to claim the North Division title and secure a No. 1 ranking for the first time since 1960.

Rutland was also a part of the team when then-No. 11 Missouri toppled then-No. 1 Oklahoma 36-27 on Homecoming in 2010. Wide receiver Gahn McGaffie returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown before Rutland recorded a sack on the Sooners’ third play of the game.

The Tigers had lost 19 of their last 20 games to Oklahoma, so the energy was off the charts. The stadium only enhanced the experience.

“You see people rush the field in college football all the time, but how often are we a part of it,” Rutland said. “I will say rushing the field is not as glorious while you're on the field as a player as it looks on TV. The field somehow gets about 15 degrees hotter with all the bodies, and it smells like sweat and beer, but it's still an awesome time.”

The painful past

Memorial Stadium has been the site of some memorable moments, but they haven’t always been positive. The Tigers have experienced heartbreak, from Missouri’s 1980 loss to Penn State in front of 75,298 people, the largest crowd ever recorded, to the infamous Fifth Down Game in 1990.

Graves recalled his favorite memory at Memorial Stadium, which is one most Mizzou fans probably wish they could forget. In 2023, MU trailed Kentucky 21-17 with 2:35 on the clock. The Tigers lined up to receive Colin Goodfellow’s punt, but when Mizzou special teamer Will Norris crashed into Goodfellow and drew a roughing the kicker penalty, the game slipped away.

“We were going to beat them,” Graves said. “We blocked the punt, and the punter went down, and it looked like he was faking. Dr. Mun Choi was standing under the goalpost yelling out, ‘He's faking,’ while the guy (was lying) on the field. He had a broken leg.”

Graves remembers the Kentucky game in a positive light because any disappointment from the loss paled in comparison to the humor that Choi provided.

“We remember all of it, and in some way, the bad memories become good memories,” Graves said.

The dangers of the north

Sports journalist Pat Forde, who graduated from MU in 1987, said that he found dark comedy in one specific part of the stadium.

“I wrote a story at one point on the cursed north end zone, which is where everything bad seemed to happen,” he said.

He wrote the column in 2013 when the Tigers missed a field goal against South Carolina and fell in double overtime. Forde also recalled Missouri’s 1984 loss to Notre Dame, but how could you forget that?

“Brett Burdett missed a 39-yard field goal,” Forde said. “(He) came up short from 39 yards, which is almost impossible. There's a pretty good litany of disasters that happened in that north end zone.”

At the time, these moments made Mizzou fans want to rip their hair out, cry, walk out of the stadium or perhaps all of the above. In hindsight, the heartbreaking moments may not be so bad. Still, there’s no denying that the big wins are a lot more fun.

The upset train pulls through Columbia

In 1972, Missouri coach Al Onofrio's unranked squad upset Colorado, ranked No. 7 at the time, by a margin of 20-17. That kicked off an inspiring stretch for Mizzou, as it upset ranked teams five more times over the next four years.

One of these wins came on Oct. 13, 1973, when the Tigers claimed one of their biggest victories ever. Then-No. 12 Mizzou defeated then-No. 2 Nebraska 13-12 after safety Tony Gillick intercepted a last-minute Cornhuskers two-point conversion pass.

One player who was around for some of the exciting upsets later in the 1970s was former Mizzou offensive lineman Howard Richards. He played for the Tigers from 1977-1980 before being selected in the first round of the 1981 NFL draft and playing professionally for seven seasons.

When asked what his favorite memory was from his years spent on Faurot Field, Richards didn’t pinpoint any grand play or specific game. Instead, his answer was quite simple.

“Just playing in front of large crowds every week was probably the best,” Richards said. “If you look at the most attended games since 1978, I think I played in probably five of those. Fans were a lot closer; there were more people on the sidelines (and) closer to the field, lining the end zones and everything. It just felt more intimate.”

When Richards became the color analyst for the University of Missouri Football radio broadcast in 2011, his relationship with the venue changed — “Obviously, I have a different vantage point,” he quipped, “but I still feel as though I'm an integral part of Mizzou football.”

Richards once spent the majority of his time at Memorial Stadium on the field. Now, he watches his former team from the press box. From there, he has witnessed the Tigers’ early years in the Southeastern Conference.

In 2012, Missouri began competing in the SEC East before the conference did away with divisions ahead of the 2024 season. The Tigers had little trouble making the transition, winning the SEC East in 2013 and 2014.

“We don't have any divisions anymore, but that was a major accomplishment, and Missouri continues to ascend within the SEC ranks,” Richards said. “That transformation has been really fantastic, and to witness it by the fans being at that stadium, packing it in and rushing the field for some signature moments (is) pretty exhilarating.”

The memories that go beyond the game of football

One of the tragic moments at Memorial Stadium came on July 12, 2005, when Mizzou linebacker Aaron O'Neal died following a workout. The players dedicated the season to him, paying their respects against Iowa State.

“Adam Crossett ended up kicking the game-winning field goal,” former Mizzou safety David Overstreet II said. “He ran to the 25-yard line, and we all met him there. Aaron O'Neal's number was 25.”

That celebration meant a lot to Overstreet because O'Neal was someone he cared about. Throughout his time at Missouri, Overstreet grew to care about someone else.

He met his wife, Chelsea, at Mizzou. The two frequently saw each other at Memorial Stadium because she was a cheerleader. Chelsea recalled a favorite memory of her own on Faurot Field: cheering during Mizzou’s game against Nebraska in 2007.

“As a senior, each game of the season was bittersweet for me, but the energy that night was so electric,” she said. “I vividly remember that the stadium was the loudest I’d ever heard.”

The Tigers defeated the Cornhuskers 41-6, marking the largest margin of victory against Nebraska since 1947. Tight end Martin Rucker recorded 109 receiving yards and a touchdown in front of a crowd of 70,049.

When reflecting on Rucker’s time at Missouri, it’s easy to get swept away in statistics. In 2007, he caught 84 passes, which was a Missouri season record at the time, for 834 yards and eight touchdowns en route to being named a Consensus All-American and a finalist for the Mackey Award that goes to the nation's top tight end.

Rucker was named to the All-Big 12 team in 2006 and 2007, and he ended his career with a then-record 203 receptions for 2,175 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Confronting the Cornhuskers

If someone had to guess what Rucker’s favorite memory at Memorial Stadium was, they might point to the entirety of the “magical” 2007 season. They would be incorrect.

One of Rucker’s fondest memories at Memorial Stadium took place before he ever suited up for the Tigers.

In 1997, Rucker was 12 years old. His brother, Mike, played football at Nebraska, so when the Tigers and Cornhuskers met up, he was in attendance. The game went into overtime after Nebraska tied it on a fluke play: the infamous flea kicker.

“I'll never forget that because the stadium was absolutely nuts, and I'd never seen so many Missouri fans cheering for Mizzou,” Rucker said. “When it came time for me to (decide) where I wanted to go to college and play football, I remember(ed) that day and how crazy those fans were, and I thought, ‘How cool would it be to give Mizzou fans something to cheer about like that again?’”

The head of the tiger 

Like the decorated tight end, Deb Snellen dreamt of setting foot on Faurot Field from a young age.

“My dad worked on Saturdays a lot, so we didn't have tickets,” said Snellen, who served as president of the Mizzou Alumni Association from 2003-04. “I'd be in my front yard listening to it on the radio (and) pretending I was a cheerleader.”

Snellen found her way onto the field during her junior and senior years at MU, but instead of putting on a cheerleading uniform, she put on a Tiger head. From 1977-79, Snellen was Mizzou’s female mascot, Lil Tiger.

“My costume was made in somebody's garage, I think..... It was not the professional mascot costume they have today,” Snellen said. “My partner and I could take the heads off because they were so heavy, (and) we couldn't breathe on a hot day. If you google the 21 most terrifying mascots, SB Nation did a funny little piece, and my partner and I made the list.”

As Missouri’s mascot, Snellen spent a lot of time at the stadium. As president of the Alumni Association, her experience there looked different but felt equally as special. Snellen recalled a vivid memory from Homecoming in 2003.

“Sheryl Crow was the Grand Marshall that year, so (she) got to go down on the field,” Snellen said. “As president, I got to go with her. To stand on the field with Sheryl Crow and do (the) M-I-Z, Z-O-U (chant) was unbelievable.”

The present and the future of the great building

Memorial Stadium has stood tall for 100 years. Its seating has held as many as 75,298 fans. Its press box has served as a workspace for some fine journalists. At the heart of the stadium, the field has welcomed the mascot and its fur paws, withstood the pounding feet of storming fans and supported a century’s worth of athletes’ cleats running across its surface.

The stadium contains blood, sweat, tears and the memories of everyone who has ever set foot inside. When Graves helped cut the ribbon outside of the north end zone, he knew all of that.

“It was right over there that I came to my first game,” Graves said. “My dad brought me, and we sat on temporary bleachers in the end zone. I learned what bourbon smelled like that day.”

“I remember right over there when I was walking with friends of mine, and I said, ‘That's the woman I'm going to marry someday,’ and I'd never asked her out. I did marry her.”

100 years from now, there might be another ribbon-cutting ceremony. The scissors may be bigger, the ribbon may be more yellow, but the cause for celebration will be the same as another century of memories are honored.